Media Release

Policing essential for cyber-safety

Today's Australian Federal Police (AFP) crackdown on internet child abuse imagery demonstrates the importance of online law enforcement, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy said today.

"The AFP should be congratulated for its efforts clamping down on these insidious crimes," Senator Conroy said.

"The Rudd Government is committed to supporting the AFP to help create a safer online environment through operations such as these."

Today the AFP announced the identification of 22 Australian men following a 12-month investigation into an online child abuse image and video-sharing network. The AFP's Child Protection Operations Teams seized more than 15,000 videos and 500,000 images of child abuse.

In the 2008-09 Budget the Rudd Government committed $49 million to increased law enforcement, including funding for 91 additional AFP members dedicated to online child protection by 2011.

This funding will allow the AFP Child Protection Operations Team to expand its capacity to detect and investigate online child abuse. It will allow the AFP to establish a victim identification and support capacity, to aid in the recovery of child abuse victims in Australia and internationally.

Funding will also be provided to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to handle prosecutions and related activities arising from the increased investigations of online predators flowing from the AFP's investigations.

"The internet offers a wide range of opportunities for all Australians, but for the nation to truly benefit we need to ensure a safe online environment," Senator Conroy said.

"The Rudd Government recognises that there is no silver bullet solution to cyber-safety and is investing $125.8 million in a comprehensive range of measures, including law enforcement, education, content filtering, research, international cooperation and a youth advisory group."

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Date: 11 December 2008
Contact: Tim Marshall 0408 258 457